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ONE TREE HILL

A virtual celebration of "The Joshua Tree"

on its 30th Anniversary

"I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside." If those words are familiar to you, then you already know a lot about what this blog is about. Early in the spring, I applied for and was awarded a land grant from the Linden Endowment for the Arts. My project is an attempt to virtually represent, the songs, the lyrics and the meaning of a record that is 30 years old.

What was I thinking?

Well for one, it struck me how this particular album, U2's "The Joshua Tree" is as relevant to these modern times we are in today, as it was when it took the world by storm 30 years ago. Then it was Reagan and Thatcher, today it is Trump and May. Then it was El Salvador and the Falklands, today it is Syria and Northern Africa.Then it was coal miners in England fighting for survival, to day it is American coal worker's trying to survive in a fast changing world. The similarities of then and now are fascinating which might be one the reasons the band is currently performing the album in its entirety on the new Joshua Tree Tour currently underway.

I vowed this would not be a political project though. No. For me, this was about taking a set of amazing lyrics and using them as a blueprint. 30 years ago, an Irish band wrote an album with a set of song's about an American Dream. It is a fictional place, but what if you could step inside the lyrics and walk around? What is you could gather a group of virtual artist and performers and bring this fictional place alive inside the virtual world of Second Life? That is to be the goal of this three month project.

This site will present some images and information from "One Tree Hill". It is here to keep your informed about the events going on at the location, and it is also where we will be sharing some of the creations that will pop up at the project. The project was made possible through a Core Land Grant form the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) and will run through 8/31/17.

If this sounds interesting, you can visit The One Tree Hill Project here in Second Life. It is VR goggle friendly and there are signs to help you out, but feel free to take your own path as you walk the "streets that have no name".

One Tree Hill (St Francis Hotel Remix)

Karma Avedon
Jun 24, 2017
1 min read

A new video is up of the One Tree Hill Project. It was created by Soda Sullivan and while it may not be quite as great as walking around the sim yourself, it is pretty close. I love this remix of the song One Tree Hill. It has a beautiful, special quality to it. It is one of four versions of the song you will find on U2's 30th Anniversary release of The Joshua Tree (Super Deluxe). Who are St Francis Hotel? They are a two piece band located in London. The identities of the two members in the band has been obscured in all of the media about the band. Photographs of the band are blurred and adjusted to keep the identities unknown. They have some music on Bandcamp. Enjoy the video! Feel free to create your own. I would love to see it!

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